TN visa regulation change
TN visa regulation change
Date: Friday, October 31, 2008 3:13 AM
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1933 -- 11/31/2008 >>>>>
The USCIS announced a new rule change on TN (Trade NAFTA) visas. The time
period of the visa has been extended from one year to 3 years. This isn't a
significant change because TN visas already have an unlimited yearly cap and
they can be extended in one year increments forever. Changing this rule will
not directly affect the numbers of TN visa holders but it could give employers
more incentive to use the visas since the costs to maintain the visa goes
down. As we all know, nonimmigrant visas such as H-1B/L-1/TN are used because
employers crave the lower cost of labor that foreign workers provide, and this
rule change makes the cost of maintaing TN status cheaper.
TN visas are used in much the same way as H-1B except that only citizens of
Canada and Mexico can qualify for them. I have done a lot of newsletters on
the TN visa and wrote this paper which you can read:
http://www.thesocialcontract.com/artman2/publish/tsc1402/article_1200.shtml
Embedded Visas -- 'Free Trade' Means a Flow of Workers Across Borders
Perhaps one of the most interesting aspects of this rule change is that the
USCIS said that the TN time period of stay is now "equal to the initial period
of admission given to H-1B professional workers." Leave it to government
bureaucrats to standardize things: the three year cap was originally used to
import Basque sheepherders into Arizona in the 1950's!
This rule change is just another example of immigration regulations being
changed by bureaucratic fiat while ignoring the Constitutional requirement for
an act of Congress to change immigration laws. Just as a reminder, here are
two other recent examples of rule changing by bureaucratic fiat:
1) April 09, 2008: The DHS extended the Optional Practical Training (OPT) visa
from 12 months to 29 months. This is a huge blow to college students seeking
internships and it also acts as a de facto H-1B increase.
2) August 15, 2008: The USCIS announced rule changes to extend the time that
H-2B workers can stay in the U.S., which is a de facto increase to the H-2B
cap of 68,000 per year. They also gutted the labor certification requirements
to make it easier for employers to game the system.
In addition to ignoring the Constitutional mandate that Congress regulates
immigration, the TN rule change could be a violation of international trade
laws because the U.S. didn't re-negotiate NAFTA with Mexico or Canada. If
either of these two countries decided that the three year expiration period
causes too much of a brain drain on their country, they could in theory file a
complaint with the WTO. I know this is a highly improbable situation because
Mexico and Canada seem to be very happy to export their cheap labor into the
U.S., but in theory it could happen.
Most people in the United States don't think of NAFTA as an immigration bill,
but that's why it's called an agreement to trade goods and services (services
is a euphemism for people). The second article is a commentary by former
foreign minister of Mexico Jorge Castaqeda which has the illuminating title:
"Trade agreements crucial to the immigration puzzle".
If immigration is to become a less heated issue, the U.S. must
address the needs of Latin America's economies. Here, one of the
key challenges facing the next U.S. administration lies in the
existing and pending free-trade agreements between the U.S. and
Latin America.
Many in the U.S. think that Obama's insistence that FTAs should be
renegotiated to include labor protections is a sign that Obama is tougher on
free trade than McCain. Castaqeda dispels that myth -- he believes that Obama
will give Mexico more favorable trade agreements, which means of course that
we will be forced deeper into the abyss!
Free-trade advocates should not view Obama's demand that these
deals be revisited as a mistake, but rather as an opportunity
to improve and deepen them;
It's anybody's guess why Castaqeda thinks Obama is the bigger pushover
considering McCain refers to himself as "Mr. Free Trade" and is author of the
McCain/Kennedy guest-worker/amnesty bill.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/tn_nonimmigrant_changes_update.pdf
Oct. 14, 2008
USCIS Increases Period of Stay for Trade NAFTA Professional Workers from
Canada and Mexico
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has increased
the maximum period of time a Trade-NAFTA (TN) professional worker from Canada
or Mexico may remain in the United States before seeking readmission or
obtaining an extension of stay. This final rule changes the initial period of
admission for TN workers from one to three years, making it equal to the
initial period of admission given to H-1B professional workers. Eligible TN
nonimmigrants may now be allowed to receive extensions of stay in increments
of up to three years instead of the prior maximum period of stay of one year.
The TN nonimmigrant classification is visa category available to eligible
Mexicans and Canadians with at least a bachelor s degree or appropriate
professional credentials who work in certain qualified fields pursuant to the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Qualified professions identified
within NAFTA include, but are not limited to, accountants, engineers,
attorneys, pharmacists, scientists, and teachers.
This final rule will ease administrative burdens and costs on TN workers.
It will also benefit U.S. employers by increasing the amount of time TN
nonimmigrants will be able to work for them before having to seek an extension
of status. Spouses and unmarried minor children of TN nonimmigrants in their
corresponding nonimmigrant classifications will also benefit from the new
regulation.
This improvement to the TN nonimmigrant category was initially announced by
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Department of Commerce
Secretary Carlos Gutierrez on Aug. 10, 2007. The effort is one of the 26
initiatives identified by President Bush s Administration to address current
immigration challenges using the tools and authorities available under
existing law.
For more information on the TN nonimmigrant visa program or to view the final
rule, visit the USCIS Web site or call the National Customer Service Center at
(800) 375-5283.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/6079314.html
Trade agreements crucial to the immigration puzzle
Needs of Latin American economies must be addressed By JORGE G. CASTAQEDA
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle Oct. 26, 2008, 9:42PMShare Print Email
Del.icio.usDiggTechnoratiYahoo!
BuzzMEXICO CITY Although many Americans believe immigration is a domestic
issue that should be excluded from talks with other governments, this is not a
view held by other nations or by the United States. Indeed, the U.S.
negotiated its first immigration deal in 1907, maintained for more than two
decades by a controversial treaty with Mexico covering immigration, and has
kept up immigration talks and deals even with Fidel Castro since the early
1960s.
For many Latin American nations, not just Mexico, immigration is the single
most important issue in their relations with the U.S. The Caribbean islands
all have a similarly high proportion of their citizens residing in the U.S.
and depend as much as Mexico on remittances. The same is true for much of
Central America. And no part of South America is exempt from this pattern.
So almost all of Latin America is deeply affected by the current immigration
climate in the U.S., and would benefit greatly from comprehensive immigration
reform. Everyone knows what viable immigration reform in the U.S. will entail:
tightening security at the border, but also including gates in the walls
currently being built; legalizing, with expeditious and sensible fines and
conditions, the 15 million or so foreigners present in the U.S. illegally; and
establishing a migrant or temporary worker program that allows a sufficient
number of foreigners to satisfy the growing needs of the U.S. economy, with
paths both to regular visits home and to U.S. permanent residence.
A second component is political will and timing. Bush had it right at the
beginning: his willingness to negotiate an immigration agreement with Mexico
at the start of his term was probably the only way to get it done.
Moving quickly is probably the only way the next president can succeed on this
front as well.
If immigration is to become a less heated issue, the U.S. must address the
needs of Latin America's economies. Here, one of the key challenges facing the
next U.S. administration lies in the existing and pending free-trade
agreements between the U.S. and Latin America.
If John McCain is elected, tinkering with or overhauling NAFTA, CAFTA and
free-trade deals with Chile and Peru, as Barack Obama has proposed, will be
unlikely. But, given the likelihood that Democrats will retain their
majorities in the U.S. Congress, even McCain would need to modify the
agreement with Colombia in order to get it passed. The pressure to include
similar provisions in the other deals would then grow.
If the recession drags on and Americans continue to erroneously blame trade
agreements for growing unemployment, falling wages and yawning inequality,
opposition to these deals will grow. Instead of waiting for the pressure to
mount, the next president would do well to pre-empt it with an ambitious
agenda on free-trade reform that would benefit everyone.
In this respect, the U.S. could learn from the European Union. American trade
agreements have been faulted for limiting themselves to trade. The response
has always been: the U.S. is not Europe, nor is it in the business of nation-
building or reconstruction. But this is exactly what it did, successfully,
with the post-1945 Marshall Plan and, unsuccessfully, with Iraq and
Afghanistan today.
First, clear and explicit human rights and democracy clauses should be
included, along the lines of similar clauses in the Mexican and Chilean
Economic Association treaties with the EU. Second, more specific provisions on
labor, the environment, gender equality and indigenous rights are needed, as
well as antitrust, regulatory and judicial reform provisions, for reasons both
of principle and political expediency.
Although there have been enormous improvements in most of these areas, there
remains a huge agenda, particularly with regard to breaking up or regulating
monopolies.
These revised agreements should include bold, enlightened provisions for
infrastructure and "social-cohesion" funds, since these can make the
difference between muddling through and true success.
Free-trade advocates should not view Obama's demand that these deals be
revisited as a mistake, but rather as an opportunity to improve and deepen
them; McCain's supporters should not see the incorporation of all of the
aforementioned inclusions as "European nonsense," but rather as a way to
narrow the gap between the agreements' promise and their actual results.
Improving Mexican and Central American infrastructure, education and rule of
law, or improving Colombian and Peruvian drug-enforcement efforts and respect
for labor laws and human rights, are all in America's interest, and free trade
agreements can help rather than harm such efforts.
If the U.S. and Latin America can face up to the challenges of trade and
immigration together, the next U.S. president may leave a weightier mark on
the hemispheric relationship than any American leader in three generations.
Castaqeda, former foreign minister of Mexico (2000-2003), is a Global
Distinguished Professor of Politics and Latin American Studies at New York
University.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Newsletter Homepage:
http://www.JobDestruction.com/shameh1b/JobDestructionNews.htm
Support this Newsletter and www.JobDestruction.com by donating:
www.zazona.com/Donations.htm
To Be removed from this mailing list, reply to this email with UNSUbSCRIBE in
the subject window
Back to archives